Kate's Unforgettable Wooden Bowl Biscuits

Preparation Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Fill a wooden biscuit bowl 2/3 full with as much of the bag of flour as possible. Use the back of a hand to form and simultaneously pack an 8-inch well in the center of the flour leaving a small amount on the bottom. Gently pour the milk into the well-packed enter of the well. Scoop 1/3 cup of room-temperature lard into the milk. Using the fingers of one hand, mush together the milk and fat until it looks like thick lumpy pancake batter. Making a massaging motion with the fingers of one hand, slightly akin to playing the scales on a banjo, move the batter around the well in a whirlpool. Continue moving the fingers steadily around the bowl as a rotary mixer would, like a centrifuge. The batter will gently pull in the packed flour. After a few rotations, it will have pulled in sufficient flour to make a very wet dough in the center of the bowl, cradled by the rest of the flour. Re-flour both hands in the remaining flour and scrape the wet mess of the gooey hand back into the dough. Re-flour both hands and slide under the dough, turning it completely over in the remaining flour with the wet portion of the flour at the bottom of the dough and the top portion completely floured. Re-flouring hands as needed, pinch off an egg-sized portion of the dough sufficient for a 1 1/2-inch biscuit. The portion pulled from the dough will be wet. Dip it into the flour so the total exterior of the dough will be wet. Dip it into the flour so the total exterior of the dough is now floured. Cup one hand, making sure the palm is floured, and move the dough on top of the palm. Use the palm of the second hand to smooth the top of the dough with pinkie and thumb to keep it round. Using a metal spatula if necessary, move the biscuit to an iron skillet or small baking sheet. Repeat with subsequent biscuits, nestling close to each other to keep upright. When pan is full and dough is all used, re-sift flour into the bowl, discarding any pieces of dough left in the sifter, and cover flour with a clean tea towel to use the next day. Bake the biscuits on the top rack of the oven for a total of 10 to 14 minutes until light golden brown. After 6 minutes, rotate the pan in the oven so that the front of the pan is now turned to the back, and check to see if the bottoms are browning too quickly. If so, slide another baking pan underneath to add insulation and retard browning. Continue baking another 4 to 8 minutes until the biscuits are light golden brown. When the biscuits are done, remove from the oven and lightly brush the tops with softened or melted butter. Turn the biscuits out upside down on a plate to cool slightly. Serve hot, right side up. Wooden BowlsWooden bowls are the easiest place to make biscuits. THey are large and shallow enough to allow the sweeping motion required, combining the ingredients without spilling flour everywhere; and if used regularly, they don't require washing. Any remaining dough scrapes out easily, the bowl is wiped out, and it's ready for another batch. Reprinted with permission from Southern Biscuits by Nathalie Dupree and Cynthia Graubart, (C) © 2011 Gibbs Smith

Preparation Preheat oven to 500 degrees F. Fill a wooden biscuit bowl 2/3 full with as much of the bag of flour as possible. Use the back of a hand to form and simultaneously pack an 8-inch well in the center of the flour leaving a small amount on the bottom. Gently pour the milk into the well-packed enter of the well. Scoop 1/3 cup of room-temperature lard into the milk. Using the fingers of one hand, mush together the milk and fat until it looks like thick lumpy pancake batter. Making a massaging motion with the fingers of one hand, slightly akin to playing the scales on a banjo, move the batter around the well in a whirlpool. Continue moving the fingers steadily around the bowl as a rotary mixer would, like a centrifuge. The batter will gently pull in the packed flour. After a few rotations, it will have pulled in sufficient flour to make a very wet dough in the center of the bowl, cradled by the rest of the flour. Re-flour both hands in the remaining flour and scrape the wet mess of the gooey hand back into the dough. Re-flour both hands and slide under the dough, turning it completely over in the remaining flour with the wet portion of the flour at the bottom of the dough and the top portion completely floured. Re-flouring hands as needed, pinch off an egg-sized portion of the dough sufficient for a 1 1/2-inch biscuit. The portion pulled from the dough will be wet. Dip it into the flour so the total exterior of the dough will be wet. Dip it into the flour so the total exterior of the dough is now floured. Cup one hand, making sure the palm is floured, and move the dough on top of the palm. Use the palm of the second hand to smooth the top of the dough with pinkie and thumb to keep it round. Using a metal spatula if necessary, move the biscuit to an iron skillet or small baking sheet. Repeat with subsequent biscuits, nestling close to each other to keep upright. When pan is full and dough is all used, re-sift flour into the bowl, discarding any pieces of dough left in the sifter, and cover flour with a clean tea towel to use the next day. Bake the biscuits on the top rack of the oven for a total of 10 to 14 minutes until light golden brown. After 6 minutes, rotate the pan in the oven so that the front of the pan is now turned to the back, and check to see if the bottoms are browning too quickly. If so, slide another baking pan underneath to add insulation and retard browning. Continue baking another 4 to 8 minutes until the biscuits are light golden brown. When the biscuits are done, remove from the oven and lightly brush the tops with softened or melted butter. Turn the biscuits out upside down on a plate to cool slightly. Serve hot, right side up. Wooden BowlsWooden bowls are the easiest place to make biscuits. THey are large and shallow enough to allow the sweeping motion required, combining the ingredients without spilling flour everywhere; and if used regularly, they don't require washing. Any remaining dough scrapes out easily, the bowl is wiped out, and it's ready for another batch. Reprinted with permission from Southern Biscuits by Nathalie Dupree and Cynthia Graubart, (C) © 2011 Gibbs Smith